The world's attention turned to Taiwan , a country located in East Asia east of China, which suffered one of the worst natural disasters in history after being shaken by a powerful earthquake . It is the strongest earthquake in the last 25 years, which caused deaths and hundreds of injuries .
What happened in Taiwan
The tremor that shook the Asian island occurred early this Wednesday, April 3, at precisely 7:58 in the morning. According to Taiwan 's seismological agency , the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2 on the Richter scale . Meanwhile, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) placed it at 7.5 and indicated that it had its epicenter 18 km south of the Taiwanese city of Hualien, with a depth of 34.8 km. “The earthquake was close to the ground and is shallow. It was felt throughout Taiwan and the islands (...). It is the strongest in 25 years,” Wu Chien-fu, director of the Taiwanese Seismological Center, told reporters , referring to the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in September 1999 that left 2,400 dead.
Local authorities indicated that they only anticipated a relatively mild earthquake of magnitude 4 and for that reason they did not send alerts, since it is an area accustomed to this type of natural phenomena and they usually carry out evacuation drills. That is why in the hours that followed, its inhabitants remained calm and followed the protocols.
In turn, it was recorded that this shaking has generated subsequent aftershocks of up to 6.5. In addition, these caused 24 landslides and damaged 35 roads, tunnels and bridges. There were even tsunami warnings on the coast of East Asia, which were eventually dismissed.
Emergency services have reported that the earthquake caused significant damage to the eastern coast of the island. Taiwan's National Fire Agency reported that 26 buildings “tilted or collapsed,” although it did not provide details on the location of the structures. In the capital, Taipei , tiles fell from older buildings and schools evacuated their students to sports fields, equipping them with yellow safety helmets. Later, a five-story building in Hualien county, near the epicenter at sea, was left leaning at a 45-degree angle on its collapsed first floor.
Nine deaths have been reported so far due to the earthquake , according to Taiwan's national fire agency. Seven of them occurred in a tunnel in a hiking area known as Dekalun Train, a mining area in Hualien. In addition, the number of injured exceeds 800 people and more than 70 individuals are trapped, some in a coal mine. Several photos and videos were released of the population trying to help the people who were under the rubble and who were injured by the earthquake.
One of the most affected cities was the Thai capital, Taipei . Its mayor, Chiang Wanan , declared level two disaster response and reported that all emergency teams and firefighters were deployed. On the other hand, he asked the population for caution in the face of possible aftershocks and the risks involved in the affected buildings.
Traffic on the east coast of the island was practically paralyzed due to landslides and falling debris that affected tunnels and highways in the mountainous region. Train service was suspended throughout the island of 23 million inhabitants, as well as subway service in Taipei. In this case, a recently constructed elevated line suffered a partial separation.
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